One of the big pleasures of summer for me is vegetable gardening. I love to walk around and look at the way the plants are producing and to come back into the house with a basket full of vegetables. I also love creative gardening ideas. They make the task of gardening fun. These 14 clever…
This post brought to you by Gilmour. The content and opinions expressed below are that of The Gardening Cook. Get A Successful Garden Make Over With 14 Easy Tips. It’s that time again. Time to transform one of my garden beds that just won’t seem to keep to a single design. I call it my…
I love recycling old materials into something new. A big collection of cement blocks got a new lease on life today. This cement blocks Plant Shelf project is the perfect way to show off a collection of plants and to add a focal point to a garden bed. Tidy up your Plant Pots with This DIY…
These Musical Planters Ring in the Sounds of the Southwest in my Garden. I have a new garden bed which has a South West Focal point as a seating area and I have carried the colors of turquoise and terra cotta through the garden with both accent pieces, planters and plants themselves. These musical planters…
This vegetable gardening post brought to you by Gilmour. The content and opinions expressed below are that of The Gardening Cook. Let’s grow a vegetable garden on a deck! Growing fresh vegetables is one of the highlights of my summer gardening experience. To me, there is nothing quite like taking out an empty basket and…
Charming Seating Area with this Budget Front Yard Makeover. I am all about gardening on a budget. With the amount of garden beds that I have, (8 and counting!) I have to be. I had a neglected Pine tree garden that was in dire need of a make over and I wanted to make it…
Fill the stockings of your plant loving friends with these Gardening Gift Guide Suggestions. Anyone who gardens is normally on the look out for different gardening products and gadgets, so I have created a Gardening Cook 2014 Holiday Gift Guide. If you are looking for something special to treat someone that you love who spends…
I used to mainly grow indoor plants. Most of my time, now, is spent with my perennials and vegetable garden, but I still have a love for houseplants that can be grown indoors. They bring nature into your home and can be used to decorate, and even clean the air in your home. These easy…
Last year, I found a neat watering can at a huge discount and turned it into a DIY scarecrow project for fall. Fall is long gone (but soon to come again!) During the year, I have used the watering can over and over with various plants in it. At the moment, I have some white…
I have a large group of herbs in pots on my deck. I am lucky that they are producing here in NC from early spring until well into the fall. The rosemary and chives even stay green all winter for me. I thought it would be fun to make some plant markers for the herbs. …
Vegetable gardening is such a satisfying experience. There is nothing quite like biting into a tomato that was just picked from your garden. The flavor is nothing like that of the ones bought from a store, even the vine ripened ones. Container Vegetable Gardens are a great way to garden when your yard is small.…
My husband and I recently attended a wedding on the coast of North Carolina. While we were there, we took the time to visit the Elizabethan Gardens at Manteo on Roanoke Island. The gardens are a fabulous experience. They feature 10 acres of wonderful tree lined and shaded paths with lovely water views. The gardens…
Anyone who has priced hardscaping lately knows how expensive it can be, particularly if you have large areas to cover. I am redoing my whole area that I used last year for veggies. Long story short, the squirrels were a nightmare for me and I don’t plan to go through that experience a second time. …
This year has been a series of set backs in my garden. It is almost the end of May and I’m way behind, but finally have some progress to show for all my work. Things that set me back were: My father’s death in February which resulted in two trips to Maine. A very long…
Squirrels in my garden last year made vegetable gardening a nightmare for me. This year, I decided to try combining perennials and vegetables in one garden bed to see how it worked out. I have long been interested in growing perennials. Adding some vegetables into the mix gave my garden beds an interesting new look.…
Oh the weather outside is frightful, or so the saying goes. Here in Raleigh, we are not known for much cold weather in the winter, but this year has been different in that regard. We have had a couple of days of snow and several weeks of unseasonably cold weather, with temps getting down to…
I have loved plants all of my life. For a large portion of it, that meant indoor plants. Now that I have a largish property, it means lots and lots of garden beds with perennials. I don’t have much time to tend indoor plants, but I still like to have a few of them around. …
Have you ever priced single Calla lilies at a florist? If you have, you will have discovered that they sell for $5-$9 a STEM. Why pay those kind of prices, when you can become your own florist – well sort of, anyway. Calla Lilies make wonderful indoor plants and comes in many colors, as well.…
10 Garden Charmers Share Their Top Tips The Garden Charmers on Facebook are a diverse group of ladies with one common theme. They love nature and gardening. I asked the ladies in the group to share their top tricks and tips. Some gave me gardening tips. Some had home and decor tips. All were great…
Creatively Gardening with Musical Planters My major in college was music, so I am drawn to anything that uses musical instruments, whether it be gardening projects or DIY ideas. Musical instruments make great garden planters. Most of them have an opening in them somewhere that a plant can fit. And when done, they are unique…
Decorate in Style with one of these Junk Art Home Decor projects The ladies in my Facebook Gardening Group called the Garden Charmers are at it again. I asked the ladies in the group to show me what they have to share for Fall Junk art and home decor projects, and they came up with…
DIY Project – Re-doing My Staggered Planter A few months ago, I did a tutorial on a staggered planter with house numbers on the bottom pot for great door curb appeal. This is what the planter looked like in early spring. Since it is autumn now, and the planter is looking a bit sad, I…
Succulents are such neat little plants. They can withstand a great deal of neglect and still keep on growing. They have great flowers (if you have the right conditions and are lucky and have a green thumb) and are very interesting in their own right when it comes to shape and design. Creative succulent planters…
Re-potting Succulents and Cacti Took me all Afternoon. Re-potting my succulents and cacti was not as easy as I thought it was going be. I had a few that I had neglected for years waiting for just the right planter to put them in. They were a sad little group for sure. I figured that…
Spruce up your indoor space with one of these Easy DIY Garden Projects. These DIY gardening projects make the perfect home decor projects for indoor plants. They are simple to do and add so much appeal to a bare indoor space just crying out for some TLC. The beauty of these projects is that they…
Creative Container and Planter Ideas for your Garden What is better than an idea for a creative planter? Why, 13 of them, of course! I recently asked some of my gardening friends to share their creative planter and container ideas and they did not disappoint. Their ideas are a cascade of fun and will add…
